Read or Die Another Christmas Carol
by M.Kasshoku
Summary: This story is based on ROD TV episode 10, and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.


Read or Die- Another Christmas Carol

**Disclaimer**: Read or Die does not belong to me.

Summery: This fic is based on ROD TV episode 10 and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It was that time of year again. The trees went up, people went shopping for gifts, and soon the day would come where families gathered together to celebrate that cumbersome holiday, Christmas. Nenene lay on her couch inside her room and stared up at the ceiling. Christmas didn't really mean much to her nowadays since her parents moved to America. And it didn't mean that much to her since _she_ disappeared.

Not that Nenene Sumiregawa was without her share of invitations. Her publisher threw his yearly Christmas bash, which she never attended. Her writer friends always got together for dinner and drinks, but she always declined at the last minute. Even her editor Lee had an intimate gathering for all of his assigned writers but she always managed to be absent for that. Christmas was a time of year she wanted to avoid because it was a constant reminder that the important people in her life were gone, and with them went her desire to ever write again.

There was a knock on her door and she bolted upright. Who in the hell was knocking on her door! It couldn't be one of the sisters because they knew better. But then again it _had_ to be one of the sisters. They were the only other people in her apartment. She felt her anger rise as she threw the blanket off and headed for the door. She was going to show them just how dangerous it was to disregard the warning that was clearly posted on the door. She yanked the door open ready to tear into whoever had the audacity to disturb her- and saw no one. Her anger instantly turned into confusion. She looked out into the hallway, glanced to the left then to the right and still saw no one. She cocked her head to listen for any kind of noise but heard nothing. It was unusually quiet. Something wasn't right.

"Hey, you three! What's going on down there?" she yelled and then stopped to listen for a response. Nothing. No movement, no hushed voices, no sound of pages turning, not one thing to indicate that anyone was home. How strange.

_Did they go out?_ Nenene wondered as she stepped back into her room and closed the door. They would have certainly mentioned something if they were headed out. They did mention that they wanted to go to a specific party she had been invited to, one that would honor this years new up and coming writer, but she had declined to go to that one as well. It was on Christmas day for god's sake. How inconsiderate.

She went back to her couch deciding not to bother checking up on the sisters. She'd find out what they were up to when she was ready to go downstairs. Right now she just wanted to lie back down and sulk. She was ready to fall into the warm cushions when there was a knock on her door again. Her temper returned.

_Who. The. Hell. Is. It! _Her mind raged as she went to the door again, but stopped dead when it creaked open slowly on its own. Her heart started to pound. If this was a joke it wasn't funny anymore. It wasn't funny before but now she was scared. The door opened ever so slowly to reveal a hallway that didn't look like her hallway. This was too strange for her. She wished she had gone down to see if the sisters were there. She wasn't sure if she was alone and if she was she didn't want to face what was knocking on her door. Not without a weapon.

She reached for the only available thing that could be used against an enemy- an umbrella. If something bad was coming her way she was ready. She heard a footstep and raised her arms to take a swing. She saw the shadow form at the threshold and the person whom it belonged to finally came into view.

"Sensei?"

Nenene dropped her arms, and let the umbrella fall out of her hands. Her heart stopped pounding with fear and started thumping with joy. Her eyes grew wide as tears formed. She couldn't believe who it was.

The figure stepped slowly over the threshold, turning momentarily to give her dolly one good yank over the bump and then she fixed her eyes on Nenene. She smiled and blushed. "It's been a while Sensei. How have you been?"

Nenene ran to her with open arms. "You dummy how do you think I've been," she said through her sobs as she threw her arms around her long lost friend Yomiko Readman- and fell right through her. Nenene was lucky her arms were out or else she would have fallen flat on her face.

She turned over quickly and stared at Yomiko who looked terribly apologetic.

"I'm sorry Sensei. I forgot to warn you about that."

Nenene was instantly on her feet and gaping at her old friend in shock. It couldn't be true. If she was transparent, then it meant that she was…

"Please tell me you're not dead. You're not, right?" Nenene felt even more tears flood her eyes. She hoped it wasn't true. She hoped it was all a dream.

"It is a dream, Sensei."

Thank goodness! Nenene was so relieved. Her friend wasn't dead. This was just a dream- hey wait a minute…

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

Yomiko looked clueless. "I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm here to tell you that you're going to have three guests tonight."

Three guests? This sounded strangely like that story…

Nenene narrowed her eyes and peered dubiously at her friend. "Three guests, huh? You mean one at 1AM, another at 2AM, and the last one at 3AM?" Yomiko nodded, and Nenene crossed her arms. "I know the story. What are you here to tell me, that I'm never going to write again if I don't get out of my rut? I'll have permanent writer's block and be a total has-been, like I'm not one already! Save it. I don't need any more visitors, and I don't need you here if you're not even real. I'd like to wake up out of this dream now."

Yomiko nodded and turned slowly to leave. Nenene went back to her couch and settled under the blanket. She watched the apparition of her friend open the door and she thought of one thing she wanted to know before she disappeared.

"Do you plan on coming back? I mean, for real?"

Yomiko stopped and looked over her shoulder at her. "I can't answer that, Sensei. I wish I could. I'm just here to tell you about your visitors, and to warn you about your writer's block. If you keep using me as your excuse, then word-by-word your writing will disappear." She opened the door and stepped over the threshold. "Remember, at 1AM your first visitor arrives. You remember the story so you know who it will be."

She turned one last time to look at Nenene, her lips forming into a small, sad smile. "It was good to see you, Sensei," she said and closed the door. Nenene looked at the door for a moment, reflecting on what just happened.

"It was good to see you too," she said and turned into the cushions back to sleep.

* * *

Nenene woke up and turned over to stare up at the ceiling. That was the strangest dream she had ever had, but weird as it was she had to admit that she was happy to have seen Yomiko Readman, even if she wasn't real. Thinking of her lost friend made her sad. She folded her arm under the back of her neck and just laid there in the darkness. Even though it was late she knew she should get up and check on the sisters. She had been upstairs for so long she wondered if her apartment was still in one piece.

There was a knock on the door. She turned her head slowly to look at the clock. The glowing green numbers read 1AM. There was another knock on the door. Nenene wasn't sure what to think of this. It couldn't be happening. She was still dreaming. That was it. She hadn't really woken up yet. She turned over again and closed her eyes waiting for sleep to overcome her. That should take care of it.

There was another knock on the door, a sharp one this time. Nenene bolted out of the couch again and yanked open the door. Anita glared up at her. "What took you so long?"

Nenene felt a vein in her head throb. "You little brat, do you know what time it is, and do you know what the consequences are for disturbing me!"

The youngest of the sisters slipped in past Nenene. "Didn't that lady tell you we were coming?"

"Lady! What lady?" Then it hit her. "Oh no. I don't think so. I told her I wanted to go back to sleep. I don't want to be visited by anyone. Who are you supposed to be, the Ghost of Christmas Past?"

Anita nodded.

"Well get out and go back to bed. This dream is over!" She noticed something in the young girls hands. A book.

"What's that for? I thought you hated to read."

Anita held out the book so she could read the title: _Nenene Sumiregawa - Christmas' Past_. "I'm supposed to show you your old life, like with your parents and stuff." She rested one hand on the cover. "Ready?"

Nenene pointed to the open door. "No! Out!"

Anita cracked opened the book. A beam of light shot out and spread throughout the walls to flood the entire room in flickering whiteness. Nenene looked around awestruck.

"What happened? What did you just do?"

The young girl was silent as she flipped through the pages and finally found the part of the book she was searching for. The flickering stopped and they were back in Nenene's bedroom, only it wasn't the room, as they knew it now. The room before them looked like the room of a young girl. There was a bed by the window covered with a flower-printed bedspread, a dresser at the far wall with various perfumes, nail polish and an arrangement of brushes on top, and an open closet where one could see shoes strewn about and clothes dangling from hangers. The only thing out of the ordinary about this room was the massive executive desk that took up one entire wall, and the girl who sat before it feverishly writing inside a yellow legal pad.

Nenene stared at the girl who was herself at age twelve. She remembered this Christmas Day because she had received that desk from her parents. It had been the only thing on her Christmas list, along with the yellow legal pads and three-dozen blue ink pens. She remembered how happy she had been, and how she had rushed upstairs after the desk was assembled so that she could begin to write the story that had been churning in her head all that day.

Anita studied Nenene closely. "You remember this day?"

The author nodded. "Yes. This is where it all started, the day I began to write my first novel. This is when I became an author."

"You must have been twelve years old here. Boy, you sure looked busy. Wasn't there a party going on downstairs?" Anita asked, scanning the room with a look of distaste. She wasn't fond of flowery bedspreads.

"Yeah, but it was more for the adults. I was happy to be up here, anyway. After that I stayed up here a lot and just worked and worked until I finally finished the novel. My dad had a friend who was an editor and he checked on my progress all the time. He took my manuscript to his job and the publisher loved it. You know what happened from there."

Anita began flipping through pages again and the scene disappeared. The flickering light returned as she searched through the book again, and stopped again when she found the next section. Books surrounded them now, so much so that it was suffocating. Anita felt sick.

Nenene'e eyes lit up when she saw a familiar face. It was Yomiko Readman again. She was twenty-two years old here, sitting with her when she was fifteen. She remembered having Yomiko substitute one of her classes. She had been a huge fan and Nenene was motivated by her enthusiasm. It wasn't long before Nenene switched from working at her executive desk to working at Yomiko's desk. She had cleared the books out of the way for her and Nenene began spent her time after school at her Sensei's place. That was her most productive time.

She saw herself hunched over the desk hard at work, and Yomiko sitting quietly reading her book. Then she suddenly stopped working and turned to the older woman.

"Sensei what are you doing for Christmas?"

Yomiko didn't seem to hear her. Her eyes moved quickly over the pages of the book she read. "Did you say something?"

She saw herself shake her head in dismay. "Are you doing anything for Christmas?"

With her head still buried in the book Yomiko answered absently, "The teachers are having a party at a restaurant in town."

She remembered at that moment, being amazed that her Sensei could be so absorbed in a book and yet still carry on a conversation at the same time. "Are you going?"

"No, it's too late."

"Why, when does it start?"

She glanced up momentarily to look at the clock. "Two hours ago."

Nenene saw herself jump out of her chair. "Oh no, you should have said something to me! If you had plans I wouldn't have stayed so long."

Yomiko's eyes stopped scanning pages and she lifted her head slowly. "Oh, I wasn't going to go. I started this book on the train this morning and I had plans to finish it tonight, so you can stay as long as you want."

She saw herself look closely at her friend. "How far have you gotten?"

"I'm almost finished. I should be done with it in half an hour."

"Oh, okay. You know my parents are having a big party with all of their friends and writers whom I've met. Want to come?"

Yomiko looked thoughtful. "Writers?"

"Yep, lots of 'em. Besides, my parents want to meet you. So, will you come?"

Yomiko's eyes brightened at that. "Okay."

Nenene continued to watch the scene before them, while Anita watched her. "You looked pretty happy then."

The young author nodded. "I was. Sensei was really important to me. She made me want to write because she couldn't get enough of my work. It made me so driven. I would punch out pages just so she could read them."

Anita flipped the pages again and the scene disappeared. "And then she was gone."

"Wait, we can't leave yet! More stuff happened that night. It was really fun. Where are you taking me now?"

Anita stopped flipping the pages and the scene that unfolded was similar to the one they had just visited, only it showed Nenene at age nineteen sitting alone in Yomiko Readman's house. She had decorated the windows and put up a tiny tree on the desk she used. Then all she did that night was sit and wait.

Nenene watched herself in that room and she knew what this was. She felt a pang in her heart as the simple memory played before her. She looked at the door, hoping that Yomiko would come through it at any moment. At that point it had been a month since she had disappeared. There had been no phone call, and no letter. She just simply vanished, and it devastated her. Nenene saw that she held a book in her hand, a rough copy of the first edition to her latest novel. It was going to be her Christmas gift to Yomiko, but she never did come.

Nenene looked away from the scene. "Can you turn the page? I don't want to see anymore."

Anita shook her head. "Sorry, there's more to show you."

"What more could there be here? What do you want me to tell you?"

"Tell me what happened that night."

"What happened? My friend is gone. I go to her place to give her a Christmas gift and see that she's _still_ gone. End of summary. Now what else do you want to know?" She looked at herself again. She went to the desk and sat down. The legal pads were open and her pens were ready, but when she tried to write all she did was draw a blank. She saw herself stare vacantly at the wall in front of her. No words came to her to form coherent scenes. No ideas came forth to become potential plots. There was nothing in her mind but emptiness, and when she realized it on that night, she let her head fall into her arms on top of the desk and she cried.

Nenene couldn't stand it anymore. "Why are you showing me this? This is the day that I lost it all. I couldn't write anymore after that, and nothing's changed. It's never going to change."

Anita began to flip the pages again until they were back in Nenene's bedroom. Their journey was over and she finally closed the book. "You stopped writing because you lost your friend. You just saw yourself grieve for her, but after four years you're still dwelling on it. If you keep this up you might never bounce back," Anita warned and realizing that her time was up she made her way to the door. Nenene watched her walk across the room and turn the doorknob.

"You don't understand."

Anita stopped and flashed an inquiring look at the author who sat on her couch with her head buried inside her hands.

"She was like my muse. She loved my books so much I couldn't help writing them for her."

"She's not the only one who likes to read your books."

Nenene lifted her head to stare at the youngest sister. "What-?"

Anita cut her off. "Look, just find another muse. I can think of two people who'd make really good ones. And speaking of two it's almost that time. Your next visitor will be here soon so I should get going. Think about what I said, okay? It's not too late."

And with that Anita was gone. Nenene was so tired after everything that she fell back against the cushions and closed her eyes. The darkness surrounded her immediately.

* * *

"Knock, knock!"

The flowery voice burrowed through her subconscious and roused her out of sleep. _What the hell?_ she thought as she cracked an eye open and turned her head slowly to look at the clock.

2AM.

The next thing she looked at was the door, which to her surprise was wide open. The light in the hallway filtered in and cast a glow over her. How annoying, and positively inconsiderate! She had enough of this. She threw the covers off and stormed out of the room into the hallway. The light was coming from below so she charged downstairs into the living room and found Michelle lying on the floor by the window, reading. There wasn't anything unusual about that except that she wore that awful hostess gown with her hair pinned up like she was ready to entertain. Nenene felt her blood boil at the thought. Who the hell was she going to entertain at this hour! Then it finally hit her again, and she groaned in vain.

Michelle, so engrossed in her book, turned around in a daze. When she realized who was in the room she dropped the book and scrambled to her feet. She snapped her fan open and sauntered over to Nenene who stood by the stairs and glowered at her.

"Good evening, Sensei! I'm glad to see you're finally up-"

Nenene held her hand out and Michelle froze in her spot. "I know who you are and I know why you're here. I'm really tired right now and I'm not in the mood, so turn off all my lights and let me go back to sleep. As far as I'm concerned Christmas is over!"

Michelle stood silently looking at her over the fan that covered her mouth. Then she lowered it and took one more determined step forward so that she stood right in front of Nenene. She raised the fan and held it over their heads. "No, it's not over. As the Ghost of Christmas Present, I'm here to show you exactly what you've missed." She waved the fan around them and the living room disappeared. It reappeared again with the three sisters gathered around the coffee table. Nenene watched with interest because she wondered what the sisters had been up to today. She saw the tall one, Maggie stand up and go into the kitchen to assemble a tray of tea and cookies. When she came back with their snack she set the tray on the table and then settled down into a spot by the window.

"Maggie-dear, have you ordered the cake for tomorrow's party?"

The tall sister leaned out to pour everyone's tea. "No, I baked it."

Michelle squealed with delight. "I can't wait to eat it! You're so good at baking cakes."

Maggie felt her cheeks flush as she replaced the teapot and settled back down.

"Sis, has Sensei mentioned anything about the invitation?"

"The one for the awards ceremony that we're dying to go to?" Michelle answered dreamily lifting her cup to sip some tea.

"No, the other one."

Michelle understood, her deliriously happy mood quickly faded. "I left it among the other invitations in her mailbox but I don't think she's looked through them all. She might not know she's invited to our party."

Nenene became intrigued. The sisters were having a Christmas party? And they invited her? How could she not have known about that? She couldn't help but be touched by the gesture. It was very sweet.

"You were too involved with your problem to notice. Or you simply ignored their invitation like you did the others," said Michelle, The Ghost of Christmas Present. She turned to the young author, a look of disapproval on her face. "You're willing to close yourself away yet again, despite the fact that you have friends who want to spend Christmas with you. Do you think it's fair that they have to compete and lose to someone who's been gone from your life for four years?"

Nenene didn't answer. She wasn't used to being scolded by Michelle, or the Ghost of Christmas Present Michelle, or whomever this image of Michelle was supposed to represent. She looked over at the scene again to see what else it would reveal. She saw Anita shun her tea and go into the kitchen to get some milk.

"Why go through all that trouble? She's been stuck in her room for four days. If she did see it she would have RSVP'd by now," the youngest sister noted after she chugged down half a bottle of "Happy Milk".

Michelle and Maggie exchanged uncertain looks. "I don't know. With the mood she's been in lately it looks like we won't be seeing her at all tonight or tomorrow. Maybe we should just have it without her."

Maggie frowned into her cup. "But, it would be a nice party if Sensei came."

"Look, if she doesn't come, too bad. More cake for us," Anita concluded, with a tone that told her older sisters she was done with the conversation.

Maggie just sighed in defeat, which made Michelle reach over to pat her hand comfortingly. "Maggie, don't feel so bad. Maybe Sensei hasn't come downstairs because she's busy working. She might be completing a chapter and who knows maybe she'll let us read it. That would be a nice present, right?"

Nenene felt a knot in her chest. The look on the tall sister's face made her feel remorseful. But then she saw her mouth spread slightly into a small smile and some color came to flush her cheeks.

"Yeah, it would. It's okay if Sensei can't come. We'll just save some cake for her."

Now Nenene felt depressed. If they only knew that she hadn't even written an entire sentence. If they only knew that she didn't deserve the consideration that they showed her by behaving so well. She looked on and saw the sisters amble about quietly, happily continuing with their preparations for Christmas. They took special care not to make noise. She wished she could do something for them in return.

She was lost in her thoughts when her living room suddenly disappeared.

"Wait, what happened next? What did they do for the rest of the night?" she asked Michelle the Ghost, who turned to her with wide, expressive eyes.

"Oh, they did their usual. The two older ones read while Anita did some homework. They passed a nice quiet Christmas Eve wondering if you were doing the same. Now Sensei, it's time to move on. I have one final place to show you."

She extended her arm and waved her fan out, and Nenene found herself standing underneath an awning on the outside of a window. She peered inside and a ballroom materialized before them. It was empty except for a few workers doing last minute inspections on all of the preparations, and her editor Lee who walked into the room with another editor whom she knew only as Noburo. They were overseeing everything but decided to take a break. Nenene watched her editor closely, as did his companion who knotted his brows when Lee lifted a pen to his lips. He fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered one to Lee.

"Here, these taste better."

Lee waved the offer away. "Thanks but I have a reason for not smoking, at least not for now."

Noburo stuffed the cigarettes back in his pocket. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm not smoking again until my star writer publishes her next novel. You haven't heard of my vow? It's pretty well known among the publishing world. Until Nenene Sumiregawa publishes her next novel I've sworn off cigarettes."

Noburo looked blankly at him. "Is that so? Well my friend let me tell you that you will never smoke again." He tapped Lee's shoulder sympathetically. "My apologies."

Nenene narrowed her eyes and glared through them at Noburo. "What the hell is he trying to imply?" she muttered to herself through clenched teeth.

"I think he's trying to suggest that you might never get rid of your writer's block, Sensei," Michelle chimed in and then she was on the receiving end of the author's fiery glare.

"Who asked you! Why did you bring me here, anyway? What am I supposed to get out of this scene?"

Michelle stood silently, watching the two men sit and talk as she fanned herself lazily. "I'm just showing you what will happen on Christmas this year, if you decide not to participate. It's still going to happen. Nothing will stop. Life goes on; Christmas goes on. Now whether your writing will go on depends on you."

Nenene looked conflicted. She turned back to Lee again to see what his response to Noburo would be. She was pleased to see that Lee was annoyed with his companion.

"Why are you putting my writer down? She's been trying really hard. Writer's block isn't easy to get through."

"Why are you putting her up on such a pedestal? The woman hasn't written a word in four years. How bad of a block does she have? Or does she even have writer's block?"

The suggestive question made Lee turn to look sharply at Noburo. "You don't know anything about Miss Sumiregawa. She's not lying about this."

"Okay fine. Let's suppose her problem is legitimate. It doesn't change the fact that Nenene Sumiregawa is a has-been. She disappointed her fans by taking such a long break from her work that they've now lost interest. Even if she gets out of her rut and starts to write again her stuff's not going to be the same. And even if by chance her writing did sound like her old work no one's going to care, because she made them wait entirely too long."

Nenene felt her heart sink a little. She knew that many people thought of her as a has-been but she had never heard the term defined in such an elaborate way. She wanted to be angry with Noburo but she couldn't bring herself to feel anything but regret. Michelle noted the change in her mood.

"What are you thinking about, Sensei?

_What am I thinking?_ she wondered as she looked at the two men sitting side by side, _I'm not just a has-been, I'm a loser_.

She saw Lee put his pen away. He looked angry. "Miss Sumiregawa has lots of loyal fans, including myself. We believe she'll show up tomorrow and we also believe she'll come through and deliver on her work."

Noburo shook his head sadly. "If you're such a loyal fan, and if you care about her so much, stop putting this burden on her. She's got four years worth of anticipation that she may not be able to deal with anymore. Cut her loose and move on." He stood up to leave. "Look, I'm telling you this because you're my friend. Do Nenene Sumiregawa a favor, and do yourself a favor. Ask to be reassigned to another author, preferably one who doesn't have problems that prevent him or her from working."

Lee didn't look at Noburo. He didn't even want to dignify what he just said. He just sat in silence and waited for his friend to leave.

"I'm sorry Lee. I didn't tell you all this to make you mad. I don't want to ruin your Christmas. I hope I'm wrong and that Sumiregawa does show up. See you tomorrow, okay? Merry Christmas." He held out his hand tentatively. Lee looked at it then he relented and shook hands with his friend. Once Noburo was gone Lee lifted the pen to his mouth again but then stopped midway. His gaze looked distant as if he were thinking far into his past, but he was back in an instant and staring at the pen with a longing she knew was for the vice he once indulged in. She then saw him lower the pen as if in defeat and place it into his pocket. He stood up to leave but stopped momentarily to look at the lights outside the window.

"I hope I'm not wrong about you, Miss Sumiregawa," he said and she watched him walk away until he was gone.

Nenene didn't enjoy the scene at all. It looked as if Lee was about to give up on her. It felt like this Christmas was her last chance in many ways. She noticed that Michelle was unusually quiet. Nenene turned to say something to her but found that she was gone. She stood outside the building alone.

"Hey- uh, Ghost?" She yelled into the darkness, the wind blowing by and carrying her voice with it.

No answer.

"Michelle? Michelle! Where are you?"

"Her time ran out. She had to go."

The soft voice broke through the hard breeze of the night and Nenene turned around to see Maggie standing in the snow. She wore a long overcoat and her hair was spotted with tiny snowflakes. Nenene blinked in disbelief.

"Why are you out here?"

Maggie looked at her watch. "It's 3AM."

Nenene was afraid to ask. "You're the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?"

Maggie nodded.

She gave up. She knew what came next. She looked at Maggie expectantly but the tall ghost remained silent. She turned and began to walk up the street, then paused to look over her shoulder at Nenene. The young author took the cue and followed the ghost. When Maggie turned a corner the scene changed and they found themselves walking the streets of Jinbo-cho. The bookstores seemed to jump out at them and Nenene noticed that her guide suddenly became less focused. She saw the ghosts eyes glaze over.

"Hey, you're supposed to be leading me somewhere right?"

Maggie immediately collected herself and smiled sheepishly at her. They continued to walk and Nenene wondered if they were going to make a stop at some point. There were many people out and they all spoke to one another in passing about the new books that were coming out. There was talk about new books and new writers, and there was talk about a writer who used to be the biggest name in publishing years past. This made her ears perk up.

"I came across a book yesterday by this writer. I was surprised to see that one of her books was still in print."

Nenene turned to see a shop owner standing in his doorway chatting with another shop owner. He held a book out to his friend who scanned the cover.

"Oh yes, I remember this one. It used to sell so quickly I could never keep it on my shelves. Then all that changed and I could never sell them anymore. I stopped carrying her titles."

"Me too. It's a real a shame. She had so much potential."

The conversation faded as they walked on and Nenene felt her heart sink. She didn't have to wonder who they were talking about. They passed by another group of people who were having a conversation and she heard a familiar voice among them. She reached forward to stop Maggie.

"Do you hear that? It's her! It's really her. And if I'm hearing her now with you that means that she's still alive, right? I have to see her." She turned away from the ghost to charge toward the group. They continued to talk as she approached but she stopped suddenly when she heard what the conversation was about.

"I heard that she went to America and moved in with her parents. She hasn't been here for years. No one knows how she's doing, or what's going on with her. That's about all we know about her. When she stopped writing she stopped coming around here for good. We wish we could tell you more, Yomiko."

Yomiko Readman was devastated. Nenene could tell. "She stopped writing?" The group nodded. "And now she's gone."

"Yes, she is but you can try to track her down in America."

Yomiko shook her head. "I can't bother her, especially if she made an effort to go so far away. I'm going to leave her alone."

Nenene turned to Maggie.

"They're talking about me, right? They're saying that _I_ stopped writing for good, aren't they?"

The tall ghost nodded her head in silence. Then a painful thought came to the young writer, causing her eyes to well up with tears. "Sensei ends up forgetting about me too, doesn't she?" That thought made her heart ache. The worst thing in the world to her was to have Yomiko Readman forget about her. It couldn't happen. She looked to Maggie for an answer but the ghost said nothing. She just wore a solemn expression, which revealed what the answer to Nenene's question would be. She couldn't take it anymore. Her tears fell freely as she watched Yomiko Readman's figure walk away and it soon faded along with the rest of Jinbo-cho.

When darkness fell around them Nenene stumbled over one of her dragging feet and fell forward. Maggie caught her and held her there allowing the author to lean against her shoulder and weep.

"I'm sorry that I had to show you this, Sensei. I knew it would make you cry. I'm sorry," Maggie said softly. The regret in her voice made Nenene cry harder. She wiped her eyes against the material of Maggie's coat and lifted her head. No new scenery came to greet them. There was just blackness around them.

"What exactly is it you're showing me?" she asked, more afraid of this answer than anything else.

"The death of your writing career."

The darkness gave way to shadows that began to move about them. "You never do recover your writing streak, and you will eventually leave it altogether. A part of you will die as well which will make you incapable of coping with your own life. The sadness you feel now will grow into a depression that will ultimately consume you. That is what you have to look forward to in the future."

Nenene was exhausted. She stayed leaning against the ghost who stood up and continued on, carrying her as she walked.

"What do I have to do to avoid it?" Nenene asked, her voice weary from her long and painful journeys.

"I can't give you an answer, Sensei. I'm sorry. This is something you have to figure out yourself. Just think about each of our visits and the answer should come to you. If not, then you know what kind of life awaits you."

Yes, she finally realized what the future held if she didn't get her act together, and it truly terrified her. She didn't feel Maggie against her anymore. Her fatigue finally gave way to sleep and she shut her eyes to welcome the merciful slumber.

* * *

The telephone rang once. Then it rang again, but cut off when someone downstairs picked up the call. Nenene's eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up. Sunlight blazed into the room. It was morning. It was _Christmas_ morning. She leapt out of the couch and bounded onto her terrace to look out at the street below. The early hour meant not many people were out and about, but Nenene drank in her surroundings and inhaled a huge breath of morning air. She felt oddly rejuvenated, like everything was going to be okay from now on. She knew what she had to do, and she was determined to make sure that nothing got in her way again.

She heard a thump come from below followed by a muffled voice. It sounded angry, which no doubt meant that Anita was annoyed with one of her sisters. Nenene smiled to herself and decided to go downstairs. She made a decision and she wanted to tell the sisters the news for she suspected it would make them really happy. She left the terrace and headed for the door, but stopped suddenly when she passed her computer. It was still on, the cursor flashing on a blank page beckoning to her. She pulled the chair out and sat down. She stared at the page for a while, thinking about the crazy dream she had last night. In four years she tried unsuccessfully to begin writing anything that came to her mind. Today she put her hands on the keyboard and all of a sudden she began to type the outline of an idea that just came to her. After the outline she kept on typing and it soon went from an outline to a starting paragraph. She remembered that she had originally wanted to go downstairs to talk to the sisters but she didn't want to stop now. If she kept on she could have one chapter finished by this afternoon. So she stayed, and continued to type.

When she stopped she had twenty pages saved on her hard drive, which she would re-read later to see if she needed anything more before she named this portion of her work the first chapter. She was excited. She felt like celebrating, which reminded her that she had something to say to the sisters. She leapt out of her chair and headed downstairs to find them lounging around the coffee table. The two older sisters were reading as usual, and Anita was in the kitchen preparing lunch. When Nenene reached the bottom step all three sisters looked up and stared at her with slight disbelief. They must have thought she would hibernate today.

"Good morning," she greeted and went into the living room and plopped herself on the couch. The sisters eyed her cautiously before returning her greeting. Actually, only Michelle and Maggie returned her greeting.

"What morning? It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon," Anita corrected entering the living room and setting a tray with food on the coffee table. She served everyone at the table and then went over to hand Nenene a steaming bowl of beef stew. The writer shot Anita a curious look.

"This isn't your usual dish. Are you branching out?"

The youngest sister turned unusually bashful and blushed slightly. "I got a little bored with curried hamburger, so I thought I'd try making this recipe that I saw in a cookbook."

Her sisters gaped at her, astonished. She actually made another effort to read a book? Nenene beamed at her and tasted a spoonful. It was delicious.

"Hey, this is excellent. You should read more of that book. You could end up being a really good cook."

Anita was surprised at the extent of her praise. "Uh, thanks," she said uneasily as she went over to her spot at the table and started on her bowl.

Nenene ate another spoonful, then set the bowl down so that she could address everyone. "I was wondering if you guys were busy tonight."

The three sisters looked at her in unison.

"Well, we were going to do something together later on tonight," Michelle answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to a few events tonight. There's the Christmas party that my publisher is throwing, this soirée that some writers are having, a get-together at Lee's place, and there's that party where the writing world honors this year's best new writer. Want to come with me?"

The three sisters stared blankly at her. Michelle and Maggie looked as if they were about to faint. "You want us to go to those parties with you?" Anita asked, surprised at the offer herself but still more levelheaded than the other two.

Nenene nodded. "Yep. And after that we can do something special here, just the four of us. So how about it?"

Michelle and Maggie looked at each other unable to contain their excitement. Anita also looked happy to have a full evening ahead of her, and joined her sisters in their joyful agreement. Maggie collected herself quickly and turned to thank Nenene.

"Thanks for being so nice to us, Sensei" she said quietly her cheeks turning red as she spoke. Michelle thanked her as well.

"Sensei, this is so exciting. Um, about our plans later tonight, would you like to join us for that?"

Michelle looked so hopeful as did her two sisters. She couldn't say no to them.

"I'd love to. We'd better get ready though. If it's already 2 o'clock then that doesn't leave us much time. Come on," she urged and the sisters were on their feet scrambling about to change their clothes. As Michelle cleaned up, she turned to Nenene.

"You know Sensei, we thought you wouldn't come out today."

"I almost didn't, but I had a really good dream last night that changed that. When we come back later, I'll have something to show you and Maggie." When Nenene finished the sentence she stopped and thought about it. What she wanted to show them was the draft she had just completed. It was the kind of thing she used to do with her long lost friend, Yomiko. She used to write chapters, and stories, and novellas, just for her. Now it seemed like she was writing them for…

The sisters ran around getting ready, chattering excitedly about the evening ahead. Nenene shook her head. She wasn't ready to give up on Yomiko. She believed that she was still out there somewhere, and she would have chapters to show her once again. Only now, she wouldn't be the only person to write them for. There were always others out there, fans who loved her work so much that they motivated her. All she had to do was keep herself open and she would always come across another person to write for.

**A/N:** Hope you all enjoyed this. Happy Holidays!


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